8MB broadband? I make it 2!

welshman10

I got BT Option 3 broadband package activated today - supposedly "up to" 8MB.

I have carried out numerous online speed tests and they all come out around 2MB.

I have checked my router settings and the downstream rate for my DSL connection is 8128Kbps

According to this chekcer http://www.samknows.com/broadband/checker2.php I am 225 metres from the exchange.

Are there any other factors why I am not getting around 8MB? Is it because it only got activated today perhaps?

On the troubleshooting broadband speeds bit of this section of the BT website, it says something about rebooting the router and then you wont get faster speeds for 3 days.

Has anyone been in a simila position with BT Broadband? I don't fancy phoning India to discuss it.

Woby_Tide

so have you actually rebooted the router then? I was meant to change package this week and tld to reboot at least once during the day to enable the new connection to be establlished with router. But as you say you are only on an "up to 8mb" connection. By rights 2mb is well within their claims

Inactive

There are many technical reasons for getting low speeds, perhaps you may wish to ask your question at;

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/

I am certain you will get help with your problem.

welshman10

Woby_Tide wrote: »

so have you actually rebooted the router then? I was meant to change package this week and tld to reboot at least once during the day to enable the new connection to be establlished with router. But as you say you are only on an "up to 8mb" connection. By rights 2mb is well within their claims

I just rebooted it now so will have to see if that makes a difference in the next few days.

The "up to 8MB" has a tagline of "the fastest speed possible on your line" and when I did one of the tests it said my line was capable of 8Mbps & as I mentioned above my router DSL connection says 8128 Kbps

welshman10

Just read a bit more on the BT site and it said it can take up to 10 days for the line to be configured to the optimum speed.

Blacksheep1979

Speedtests won't actually show what your line speed is - generally they will be a bit shy of it. Also the lines in your house may affect performance, if you're using wireless and if so the more clients there are. And as they say - 'up to 8mbit'

browolf

the router speed is the speed to the exchange not the speed of the broadband.
attenuation is an indication of distance to the exchange and snr of line quality. these stats are more useful than sync.

Hermann

welshman10 wrote: »

Just read a bit more on the BT site and it said it can take up to 10 days for the line to be configured to the optimum speed.

The 10 days is for 'line training', during this time the exchange software adjusts the Synch speed to find the optimum for your line.

Your posts seem to indicate that your line is Synched at 8128Kbps. If thats the case and your connection is reliable, ie not constantly dropping out, then its likely that you have a good quality line and the 10 days won't do anything for you.

If your synched at 8128Kbps but only getting 2 Mb speeds then the problem is more likely to be either exchange congestion, your isp is throttling you (lot of problems with BT doing this at the moment) or your isp has assigned you the wrong profile.

I think originally it could take three days of stable synch to set your profile to allow higher speeds but I thought BT had sorted that.

It sounds like you have a good quality line and good synch so its more likely to be an isp problem.

I wouldn't hang around doing nothing, you have a limited time to get out the contract before being stuck for 12/18 months. If they can't sort you out soon you need to reject the contract and change isp. You may find they won't do anything for the 10 days but don't let it drag on beyond that as I think BT give you 14 days to cancel without penalty.

Hermann

Just reread your first post and realised your on day 1.

It may well be that you need the three days to get the higher speed profile set.

Give it a few days and see what happens, it sounds like you've got a good line and should get good speeds.

martaaay

You never actually get 8mbps on ADSL max connections, around 2 is perfectly normal even though my line sychs to the exchange at 7.5 mbps.

Madasafish_Customer_Care

In your first 10 days of service on "speeds up to 8Mb" it's completely normal to get fluctuations in your speed/speeds lower than you expected.

What BT are doing is they're testing your line to figure out what the maximum speed is that your line can carry reliably.

After your first 10 days your speeds should settle at the fastest speed that your line can reliably carry.

To really maximise the testing period - make sure that you're connecting from your master socket and leave your router on all the time (you don't need to have the computer on, just the router).

Also - make sure you've got 1 microfilter fitted to every phone socket.

Good luck!

Kind regards,
Samara